Our holdings include hundreds of glass and film negatives/transparencies that we've scanned ourselves; in addition, many other photos on this site were extracted from reference images (high-resolution tiffs) in the Library of Congress research archive. (To query the database click here.) They are adjusted, restored and reworked by your webmaster in accordance with his aesthetic sensibilities before being downsized and turned into the jpegs you see here. All of these images (including "derivative works") are protected by copyright laws of the United States and other jurisdictions and may not be sold, reproduced or otherwise used for commercial purposes without permission.

1916. Washington, D.C. "Post Office Department, opening machine." If you have sharp eyes and don't mind a little sleuthing, there is an interesting story to be gleaned here. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.

Albemarle County, Virginia, circa 1916. "Outbuilding, Monticello. Estate of Thomas Jefferson." This is the North Pavilion, the last building constructed at Monticello. Harris & Ewing Collection glass negative. View full size.

1926. "W.H. West Co., Wakefield." Wakefield Hall was "an imposing new apartment edifice" put up by W.H. West Co. at 15th and V streets N.W. in Washington. Rents: $60 to $160 a month. National Photo Co. View full size.

Shorpy.com | History in HD is a vintage photo archive featuring thousands of high-definition images from the 1850s to 1960s. (Available as fine-art prints from the Shorpy Archive.) The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a teenage coal miner who lived 100 years ago.